Luis Ramos: 3D generalist interview

By 3dtotal staff

3D generalist and look dev artist Luis Ramos takes a look at his work and career prior to his start at MPC Vancouver, while sharing his artwork...

3dtotal: Tell us a little bit about yourself: Who are you, what do you do, and where are you located?

Luis Ramos: My name is Luis Ramos and I'm a 3D Generalist/Look Development Artist currently based in Sao Paulo, Brazil. I've been working with 3D for 12 years, mainly for advertising agencies all over the world, but now I'm focusing on my personal projects in order to improve my skills to reach my goal of breaking into the film industry.

Look development and hair study. Head modeling by Bao Vu

Look development and hair study. Head modeling by Bao Vu

3dt: What was the workflow behind your latest gallery image? Where did the idea come from?

LR: After a client asked for an image that ended up not been finalized, I decided to use the pig model to add another image to my portfolio. The modeling and grooming was made by my friend and artist Bruno Tornisielo, and I was responsible for the textures, lighting and look development of the final image. It was a very good opportunity to study realism and use the sss shader in V-Ray and Maya.

3dt: What challenges did the image present? Did you learn something new?

LR: The main challenge was to reach a nice level of realism while keeping a cartoonish feel to the pig. Technically it was a challenge to maintain the SSS look with the fur at the top, which was fixed by adding a little bit of transparency to the fur, so that was a new "trick” to always keep in mind.

3dt: Do you use any other software, either for work or personal projects?

LR: My main tools are Maya and V-Ray, but I'm currently using Arnold and thinking about replacing V-Ray for it. I use ZBrush for sculpting and polypainting and Photoshop for texturing and final touch. I'm currently experimenting with Katana and Renderman. There are some other software that I sometimes use in specific projects, such as Substance Painter, UVLayout, 3ds Max, and Nuke.

LR: After a huge gap of any personal projects whatsoever, I decided to focus only on them. So I left FUZE Image Maker and started asking friends to join me in some ideas, that way we all would have a new piece for our portfolio at the end. I also started to take old models from old projects and redesigning them, introducing separately as new work in my personal portfolio.

Professional projects shows that you have experience, but personal projects shows what you really can do and I think it's important to keep posting them in all CG communities to show the world what you enjoy doing and what your ambitions are.

3dt: Are you a member of any social media groups? Any favorite hashtags you check on a daily basis?

LR: Although I don't post any of my work (or almost nothing at all) I have a Facebook account that I use to keep in touch with friends and artists from around the world. I try to keep my ArtStation page always up to date and I try to check other artist's work daily.

Modeled by Bruno Tornisielo and Concept by Flavio Callegaro.

3dt: How important is the recognition of your peers?

LR: Even though it's not a goal, appreciation always helps you to stay motivated. Especially when you're doing freelance work, being known in the community or having worked on a known project, always helps you to get into cool projects, and places like 3dtotal really take the artist to a next level of recognition.

3dt: What are your artistic ambitions?

LR: I've always dreamed of working in film, so I started to focus on that idea and changing my work to something closer to that. So my ambition is to keep studying and working to grow as a better artist, to be able to work in cool projects and with different artists.

Concept by Flavio Callegaro.

3dt: Who are your favorite artists, traditional or digital, and can you explain why?

LR: Since the beginning I've always followed the work of Antropus, he's a great inspiration not only because of his art, but also because of his story. I also follow some artists on ArtStation and some artists/friends like Bruno Tornisielo, Flavio Callegaro, Lucas Miguel, Hugo Perticarati, Marcos Falcão, Junior Pitondo, the guys from FUZE, and I always keep an eye at the 3dtotal gallery.

3dt: What can we expect to see from you next?

LR: I've signed a contract with MPC Vancouver for a Lighting Artist position starting in February 2018, this will be my first chance at the film industry so I'll try to make the best of it. I also will do my best to keep my personal projects running.